Theyyam: The divine dance from gods own country


Do you ever get a feeling when you see an amazing picture, maybe a bit of Deja vu, maybe some goosebumps for some unknown reason, that you’ve been there before or the photos you are looking at come from some other worldly place. I knew when I first saw Sreejith’s work that he has an amazing eye. Very few photographers are able to catch the moment with such realism and yet with a bit of mystery. I am so honored to present his work and blog here on “Life in Russia”. You can find more of his work here: Santiago the Shepherd

The Gods in Action

Theyyam14_rs

Have you ever got a chance to see gods in action?

They descent to earth, dance to the drum beats and talks to you…

It’s sheer magic that unfolds right in front of your eyes when you are watching a “theyyam” dancer performs.

For the believers,

it’s not the mortal human being, in one of the most striking costumes and facial paintings,

in front of them, But the god himself.

Being born and brought up in this beautiful and exotic land of Kerala,

I am lucky to witness innumerable theyyam performances.

Let me share a few images from a theyyam performance in a temple near my home.

There is a lot of information available in the cyber world on “Theyyam” and people who are interested can follow the links below.

 

Links:


26 thoughts on “Theyyam: The divine dance from gods own country

    1. I so agree. I knew when I first saw his work he had this ability. Side comment, I’m currently looking at your own photography work at your blog. nice work.

      1. I hope one day to travel to India and shoot, hopefully meet up with him one day to see the magic he sees through his lens! Thank you.

    1. Thank you so much, Sue 🙂

      When you come down to India, this is something one should never miss 🙂

      And the best part is, it’s been practiced only in a very small area in Kerala, and luckily it’s my native 🙂

      1. I think the Kerala Tourism board should have you as a spokesperson Sreejith. Prio to following your blog i had never even heard of this are of India. Now should we ever make a trip to your country this would be a must see spot. 🙂

      2. I am so happy that I could introduce my native to you, but frankly speaking, “Kerala Tourism” is one of the best marketed tourism board in India and this place is listed in the National Geographic Traveler top 50 places in the world.
        They are using the “God’s Own Country” campaign for Kerala.

      3. With apologies Sreejith I just really have never researched India as a destination. I am sure if I had, as you point out, Kerala would quickly become a must see spot. Again thank you for educating me about your beautiful country.

      4. To be fair, I am yet to explore Kerala. As I mentioned before, once I got a job, I moved to Bangalore and been shuttling between Kerala and Bangalore, and never got time to explore.
        But that had given an opportunity to move around the neighboring states and helped me to view my own place with a different perspective 🙂

    1. Dear Steve,

      Thank you so much for hosting me at your beautiful blog and the great introduction 🙂

      Kerala is unique in many ways and I feel great to be an Ambassador of this land in blogosphere 🙂

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